Audio and/or video generation apparatus and method of generating audio and/or video signals

ABSTRACT

An audio and/or video generation apparatus which is arranged in operation to generate audio and/or video signals representative of an audio and/or video source, the audio and/or video generation apparatus comprising a recording unit which is arranged in operation to record the audio and/or video signals on a recording medium, wherein the audio and/or video generation apparatus is arranged to receive metadata associated with the audio and/or video signals generated by a data processor, the recording unit being arranged in operation to record the metadata on the recording medium with the audio and/or video signals. The data processor may be arranged to receive signals representative of the time codes of the recorded audio/video signals, and the metadata may include time code data representative of the in and out points of a take of the audio/video signals generated by the data processor.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is a continuation of and claims the benefit of priorityunder 35 U.S.C. §120 from U.S. application Ser. No. 11/873,875, filedOct. 17, 2007, which is a continuation application of U.S. applicationSer. No. 09/705,656, filed Nov. 3, 2000, now issued as U.S. Pat. No.7,289,717, and claims the benefit of priority under 35 U.S.C. §119 ofUnited Kingdom Patent Application No. 0008435.0, filed on Apr. 5, 2000;United Kingdom Patent Application No. 0004973.4, filed on Mar. 1, 2000;and United Kingdom Patent Application No. 9926321.2, filed on Nov. 5,1999. The entire contents of each of these applications are incorporatedherein by reference.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to audio and/or video generation apparatusand methods of generating audio and/or video signals. The presentinvention also relates to methods of generating audio and/or videosignals.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

The subject matter and content of audio and video productions variesgreatly. In addition to this variety there is, correspondingly, aconsiderable quantity of such audio and video productions. The audioproductions include, for example, radio broadcasts, both live andpre-recorded, musical and audio recordings, whereas video productionsinclude, for example, films, television programs and video recordings.As will be appreciated typically video productions also include anaccompanying sound track or commentary, so that an audio production isinherently included as part of the video production.

The term audio and/or video will be used herein to refer to any from ofaudio information or signals, video information or signals, or acombination of video and audio information or signals. The termaudio/video will be used for short to refer to audio and/or video.

As a result of the great variety and quantity of audio/videoproductions, the task of locating particular content items ofaudio/video material within an archive of audio/video productionsrepresents an arduous and labour intensive task, because an operatormust visually search the audio/video productions for the desired contentitem. Furthermore, because of the length of audio/video productionswhich are typically although not exclusively stored on linear recordingmedia, the task of navigating through the media to locate particularcontent items of audio/video material from an audio/video production istime consuming and labour intensive.

In our co-pending UK patent application number GB 9921235.9 there isdisclosed a method and apparatus for navigating through the content ofaudio/video material using metadata which represents the content of theaudio/video material.

The term metadata as used herein refers to and includes any form ofinformation or data which serves to describe either the content ofaudio/video material or parameters present or used to generate theaudio/video material or any other information associated with theaudio/video material. Metadata may be, for example, “semantic metadata”which provides contextual/descriptive information about the actualcontent of the audio/video material. Examples of semantic metadata arethe start of periods of dialogue, changes in a scene, introduction ofnew faces or face positions within a scene or any other items associatedwith the source content of the audio/video material. The metadata mayalso be syntactic metadata which is associated with items of equipmentor parameters which were used whilst generating the audio/video materialsuch as, for example, an amount of zoom applied to a camera lens, anaperture and shutter speed setting of the lens, and a time and date whenthe audio/video material was generated. Although metadata may berecorded with the audio/video material with which it is associated,either on separate parts of a recording medium or on common parts of arecording medium, metadata in the sense used herein is intended for usein navigating and identifying features and essence of the content of theaudio/video material, and may, therefore be separated from theaudio/video signals when the audio/video signals are reproduced. Themetadata is therefore separable from the audio/video signals.

The apparatus and method for navigating through the content ofaudio/video material disclosed in the co-pending UK patent applicationnumber GB 9921235.9 uses the metadata which has been generated with theaudio/video signals to navigate through the items of contextual oressence information of the audio/video material.

In a further co-pending UK patent application number 9921234.2 there isdisclosed an editing system for editing source content such asaudio/video material to produce an edited audio/video production byapplying a template representative of a desired production style tometadata associated with the audio/video material to form theproduction.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

According to the present invention there is provided an audio and/orvideo generation apparatus which is arranged in operation to generateaudio and/or video signals representative of an audio and/or videosource, the audio and/or video generation apparatus comprising arecording means which is arranged in operation to record the audioand/or video signals on a recording medium, wherein the audio and/orvideo generation apparatus is arranged to receive metadata associatedwith the audio and/or video signals generated by a data processor, therecording means being arranged in operation to record the metadata onthe recording medium with the audio and/or video signals.

As discussed above there is a great variety in the nature and content ofaudio/video productions. Although it is known to associate metadata withaudio/video productions for facilitating asset management for archivingthe audio/video productions, as indicated in our co-pending patentapplications mentioned above, the present invention recognises thatmetadata can be used for facilitating the creation of the audio/videoproductions by editing and navigating through the content of theaudio/video material.

An improvement in the creation of audio/video productions is achieved byproviding an audio/video generation apparatus, which generates metadataand stores the metadata with the audio/video signals on a recordingmedium. As such the metadata which describes the content of theaudio/video signals can be read from the recording medium separately orin parallel, and so provides an indication of the content of theseaudio/video signals without having to reproduce these signals.Generating metadata which describes the content of the audio/videomaterial, and recording the metadata with audio/video signals on therecording medium provides a particular advantage when the audio/videosignals are edited to form an audio/video production. This is becausethe audio/video signals may be selectively reproduced from the recordingmedium in accordance with the metadata describing the content of theaudio/video signals without reproducing and viewing the signalsthemselves which is time consuming and labour intensive. As such theefficiency of the editing process is correspondingly improved.

A further improvement is provided wherein the data processor is arrangedto detect signals representative of a time code of the recordedaudio/video signals and the metadata includes time code datarepresentative of the in and out points of a take of the audio/videosignals generated by said data processor. By recording metadata with theaudio/video signals which provides the time codes of the in and outpoints of the take of forming part of the audio/video signals, theindividual content items of the audio/video signals may be identifiedfor editing.

An audio/video generation apparatus which is arranged to receivemetadata generated by a data processor is provided with an improvedfacility for introducing metadata associated with audio/video signalsgenerated by the audio/video apparatus. The data processor may form partof the audio/video generation apparatus or the data processor may beseparate therefrom.

The audio/video generation apparatus may be provided with a userinterface having a predetermined format for connecting the audio and/orvideo generation apparatus to the data processor. The interfacetherefore provides a facility for the data processor to be connected tothe audio and/or video generation apparatus using the interface. Thepredetermined format may be of a common type thereby providing afacility for a range of possible data processors to be connected to theaudio/video generation apparatus. As such, the data processor provides afacility for a user to generate metadata and for including this metadatawith the audio and/or video signals generated by the audio/videogeneration apparatus. The metadata may be recorded separately on therecording medium, from the audio and/or video signals.

In preferred embodiments, the interface may provide a facility forreceiving signals from the audio/video generation apparatus. The signalsmay be representative of the time code present on the recording medium.As such the data processor may be arranged in operation to receivesignals representative of the time code of the recorded signals via theinterface and to generate said metadata.

According to an aspect of the present invention, there is provided anaudio and/or video generation apparatus which is arranged in operationto generate audio and/or video signals representative of an audio and/orvisual source, the audio and/or video generation apparatus comprising adata processor which is arranged in operation to detect time codesassociated with the audio and/or video signals and to store data beingrepresentative of the time codes associated with at least part of theaudio/video signals in a data store.

Storing the time codes associated with the audio/video signalsseparately in a data store provides a facility for addressing theaudio/video signals recorded in the recording medium separately. Assuch, in embodiments of the present invention, the time code data mayrepresentative of the time codes at an in point and an out point of saidat least part of the audio/video signals. Parts of the audio/videosignals may, therefore be identified from the time code data.

A further advantage is provided in automatically generating a uniqueidentification code to identify the audio/video signals as they arebeing generated. Therefore, the metadata may include a uniqueidentification code for uniquely identifying part or parts of theaudio/video signals. The part or parts may be takes of audio/videomaterial. In preferred embodiments the unique identification code may bea UMID or the like.

In a preferred embodiment the audio and/or video generation apparatusmay be a video camera, camcorder, television camera, cinema camera orthe like.

According to an aspect of the present invention there is provided ametadata generation tool which is arranged in operation to receive audioand/or video signals representative of an audio and/or visual source,and to generate metadata associated with the audio and/or video signals,the generation apparatus comprising a data processor which is arrangedin operation to generate the metadata in response to the audio and/orvideo signals and to store the metadata associated with at least part ofthe audio/video signals in a data store, wherein the data processor isarranged in operation to detect time codes associated with the audioand/or video signals, the generated metadata being representative of thetime codes associated with least part of the audio/video signals.

Various further aspects and features of the present invention aredefined in the appended claims.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Embodiments of the present invention will now be described by way ofexample with reference to the accompanying drawings wherein:

FIG. 1 is a schematic block diagram of a video camera arranged inoperative association with a Personal Digital Assistant (PDA),

FIG. 2 is a schematic block diagram of parts of the video camera shownin FIG. 1,

FIG. 3 is a pictorial representation providing an example of the form ofthe PDA shown in FIG. 1,

FIG. 4 is a schematic block diagram of a further example arrangement ofparts of a video camera and some of the parts of the video cameraassociated with generating and processing metadata as a separateacquisition unit associated with a further example PDA,

FIG. 5 is a pictorial representation providing an example of the form ofthe acquisition unit shown in FIG. 4,

FIG. 6 is a part schematic part pictorial representation illustrating anexample of the connection between the acquisition unit and the videocamera of FIG. 4,

FIG. 7 is a part schematic block diagram of an ingestion processorcoupled to a network, part flow diagram illustrating the ingestion ofmetadata and audio/video material items,

FIG. 8 is a pictorial representation of the ingestion processor shown inFIG. 7,

FIG. 9 is a part schematic block diagram part pictorial representationof the ingestion processor shown in FIGS. 7 and 8 shown in more detail,

FIG. 10 is a schematic block diagram showing the ingestion processorshown in operative association with the database of FIG. 7,

FIG. 11 is a schematic block diagram showing a further example of theoperation of the ingestion processor shown FIG. 7,

FIG. 12 a is a schematic representation of the generation of picturestamps at sample times of audio/video material,

FIG. 12 b is a schematic representation of the generation of textsamples with respect to time of the audio/video material,

FIG. 13 provides as illustrative representation of an example structurefor organising metadata,

FIG. 14 is a schematic block diagram illustrating the structure of adata reduced UMID, and

FIG. 15 is a schematic block diagram illustrating the structure of anextended UMID.

DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Acquisition Unit

Embodiments of the present invention relate to audio and/or videogeneration apparatus which may be for example television cameras, videocameras or camcorders. An embodiment of the present invention will nowbe described with reference to FIG. 1 which provides a schematic blockdiagram of a video camera which is arranged to communicate to a personaldigital assistant (PDA). A PDA is an example of a data processor whichmay be arranged in operation to generate metadata in accordance with auser's requirements. The term personal digital assistant is known tothose acquainted with the technical field of consumer electronics as aportable or hand held personal organiser or data processor which includean alpha numeric key pad and a hand writing interface.

In FIG. 1 a video camera 101 is shown to comprise a camera body 102which is arranged to receive light from an image source falling within afield of view of an imaging arrangement 104 which may include one ormore imaging lenses (not shown). The camera also includes a view finder106 and an operating control unit 108 from which a user can control therecording of signals representative of the images formed within thefield of view of the camera. The camera 101 also includes a microphone110 which may be a plurality of microphones arranged to record sound instereo. Also shown in FIG. 1 is a hand-held PDA 112 which has a screen114 and an alphanumeric key pad 116 which also includes a portion toallow the user to write characters recognised by the PDA. The PDA 112 isarranged to be connected to the video camera 101 via an interface 118.The interface 118 is arranged in accordance with a predeterminedstandard format such as, for example an RS232 or the like. The interface118 may also be effected using infra-red signals, whereby the interface118 is a wireless communications link. The interface 118 provides afacility for communicating information with the video camera 101. Thefunction and purpose of the PDA 112 will be explained in more detailshortly. However in general the PDA 112 provides a facility for sendingand receiving metadata generated using the PDA 112 and which can berecorded with the audio and video signals detected and captured by thevideo camera 1. A better understanding of the operation of the videocamera 101 in combination with the PDA 112 may be gathered from FIG. 2which shows a more detailed representation of the body 102 of the videocamera which is shown in FIG. 1 and in which common parts have the samenumerical designations.

In FIG. 2 the camera body 102 is shown to comprise a tape drive 122having read/write heads 124 operatively associated with a magneticrecording tape 126. Also shown in FIG. 2 the camera body includes ametadata generation processor 128 coupled to the tape drive 122 via aconnecting channel 130. Also connected to the metadata generationprocessor 128 is a data store 132, a clock 136 and three sensors 138,140, 142. The interface unit 118 sends and receives data also shown inFIG. 2 via a wireless channel 119. Correspondingly two connectingchannels for receiving and transmitting data respectively, connect theinterface unit 118 to the metadata generation processor 128 viacorresponding connecting channels 148 and 150. The metadata generationprocessor is also shown to receive via a connecting channel 151 theaudio/video signals generated by the camera. The audio/video signals arealso fed to the tape drive 122 to be recorded on to the tape 126.

The video camera 110 shown in FIG. 1 operates to record visualinformation falling within the field of view of the lens arrangement 104onto a recording medium.

The visual information is converted by the camera into video signals. Incombination, the visual images are recorded as video signals withaccompanying sound which is detected by the microphone 101 and arrangedto be recorded as audio signals on the recording medium with the videosignals. As shown in FIG. 2, the recording medium is a magnetic tape 126which is arranged to record the audio and video signals onto therecording tape 126 by the read/write heads 124. The arrangement by whichthe video signals and the audio signals are recorded by the read/writeheads 124 onto the magnetic tape 126 is not shown in FIG. 2 and will notbe further described as this does not provide any greater illustrationof the example embodiment of the present invention. However once a userhas captured visual images and recorded these images using the magnetictape 126 as with the accompanying audio signals, metadata describing thecontent of the audio/video signals may be input using the PDA 112. Aswill be explained shortly this metadata can be information thatidentifies the audio/video signals in association with a pre-plannedevent, such as a ‘take’. As shown in FIG. 2 the interface unit 118provides a facility whereby the metadata added by the user using the PDA112 may be received within the camera body 102. Data signals may bereceived via the wireless channel 119 at the interface unit 118. Theinterface unit 118 serves to convert these signals into a form in whichthey can be processed by the acquisition processor 128 which receivesthese data signals via the connecting channels 148, 150.

Metadata is generated automatically by the metadata generation processor128 in association with the audio/video signals which are received viathe connecting channel 151. In the example embodiment illustrated inFIG. 2, the metadata generation processor 128 operates to generate timecodes with reference to the clock 136, and to write these time codes onto the tape 126 in a linear recording track provided for this purpose.The time codes are formed by the metadata generation processor 128 fromthe clock 136. Furthermore, the metadata generation processor 128 formsother metadata automatically such as a UMID, which identifies uniquelythe audio/video signals. The metadata generation processor may operatein combination with the tape driver 124, to write the UMID on to thetape with the audio/video signals.

In an alternative embodiment, the UMID, as well as other metadata may bestored in the data store 132 and communicated separately from the tape126. In this case, a tape ID is generated by the metadata generationprocessor 128 and written on to the tape 126, to identify the tape 126from other tapes.

In order to generate the UMID, and other metadata identifying thecontents of the audio/video signals, the metadata generation processor128 is arranged in operation to receive signals from other sensor 138,140, 142, as well as the clock 136. The metadata generation processortherefore operates to co-ordinate these signals and provides themetadata generation processor with metadata such as the aperture settingof the camera lens 104, the shutter speed and a signal received via thecontrol unit 108 to indicate that the visual images captured are a “goodshot”. These signals and data are generated by the sensors 138, 140, 142and received at the metadata generation processor 128. The metadatageneration processor in the example embodiment is arranged to producesyntactic metadata which provides operating parameters which are used bythe camera in generating the video signals. Furthermore the metadatageneration processor 128 monitors the status of the camcorder 101, andin particular whether audio/video signals are being recorded by the tapedrive 124. When RECORD START is detected the IN POINT time code iscaptured and a UMID is generated in correspondence with the IN POINTtime code. Furthermore in some embodiments an extended UMID isgenerated, in which case the metadata generation processor is arrangedto receive spatial co-ordinates which are representative of the locationat which the audio/video signals are acquired. The spatial co-ordinatesmay be generated by a receiver which operates in accordance with theGlobal Positioning System (GPS). The receiver may be external to thecamera, or may be embodied within the camera body 102.

When RECORD START is detected, the OUT POINT time code is captured bythe metadata generation processor 128. As explained above, it ispossible to generate a “good shot” marker. The “good shot” marker isgenerated during the recording process, and detected by the metadatageneration processor. The “good shot” marker is then either stored onthe tape, or within the data store 132, with the corresponding IN POINTand OUT POINT time codes.

As already indicated above, the PDA 112 is used to facilitateidentification of the audio/video material generated by the camera. Tothis end, the PDA is arranged to associate this audio/video materialwith pre-planned events such as scenes, shots or takes. The camera andPDA shown in FIGS. 1 and 2 form part of an integrated system forplanning, acquiring, editing an audio/video production. During aplanning phase, the scenes which are required in order to produce anaudio/video production are identified. Furthermore for each scene anumber of shots are identified which are required in order to establishthe scene. Within each shot, a number of takes may be generated and fromthese takes a selected number may be used to form the shot for the finaledit. The planning information in this form is therefore identified at aplanning stage. Data representing or identifying each of the plannedscenes and shots is therefore loaded into the PDA 112 along with noteswhich will assist the director when the audio/video material iscaptured. An example of such data is shown in the table below.

A/V Production News story: BMW disposes of Rover Scene ID: 900015689Outside Longbridge Shot 5000000199 Longbridge BMW Sign Shot 5000000200Workers Leaving shift Shot 5000000201 Workers in car park Scene ID:900015690 BMW HQ Munich Shot 5000000202 Press conference Shot 5000000203Outside BMW building Scene ID: 900015691 Interview with minister Shot5000000204 Interview

In the first column of the table below the event which will be capturedby the camera and for which audio/video material will be generated isshown. Each of the events which is defined in a hierarchy is providedwith an identification number. Correspondingly, in the second columnnotes are provided in order to direct or remind the director of thecontent of the planned shot or scene. For example, in the first row theaudio/video production is identified as being a news story, reportingthe disposal of Rover by BMW. In the extract of the planning informationshown in the table below, there are three scenes, each of which isprovided with a unique identification number. Each of these scenes are“Outside Long Bridge”, “BMW HQ Munich” and “Interview with Minister”.Correspondingly for each scene a number of shots are identified andthese are shown below each of the scenes with a unique shotidentification number. Notes corresponding to the content of each ofthese shots are also entered in the second column. So, for example, forthe first scene “Outside Long Bridge”, three shots are identified whichare “Long Bridge BMW”, “Workers leaving shift” and “Workers in carpark”. With this information loaded onto the PDA, the director or indeeda single camera man may take the PDA out to the place where the newstory is to be shot, so that the planned audio/video material can begathered. An illustration of the form of the PDA with the graphical userinterface displaying this information is shown in FIG. 3.

As indicated in FIG. 1, the PDA 112 is arranged to communicate data tothe camera 111. To this end the metadata generation processor 128 isarranged to communicate data with the PDA 112 via the interface 118. Theinterface 118 maybe for example an infra-red link 119 providing wirelesscommunications in accordance with a known standard. The PDA and theparts of the camera associated with generating metadata which are shownin FIG. 2 are shown in more detail in FIG. 4.

In FIG. 4 the parts of the camera which are associated with generatingmetadata and communicating with the PDA 112 are shown in a separateacquisition unit 152. However it will be appreciated that theacquisition unit 152 could also be embodied within the camera 102. Theacquisition unit 152 comprises the metadata generation processor 128,and the data store 132. The acquisition processor 152 also includes theclock 136 and the sensors 138, 140, 142 although for clarity these arenot shown in FIG. 4. Alternatively, some or all of these features whichare shown in FIG. 2 will be embodied within the camera 102 and thesignals which are required to define the metadata such as the time codesand the audio/video signals themselves may be communicated via acommunications link 153 which is coupled to an interface port 154. Themetadata generation processor 128 is therefore provided with access tothe time codes and the audio/video material as well as other parametersused in generating the audio/video material. Signals representing thetime codes end parameters as well as the audio/video signals arereceived from the interface port 154 via the interface channel 156. Theacquisition unit 152 is also provided with a screen (not shown) which isdriven by a screen driver 158. Also shown in FIG. 4 the acquisition unitis provided with a communications processor 160 which is coupled to themetadata generation processor 128 via a connecting channel 162.Communications is effected by the communications processor 160 via aradio frequency communications channel using the antennae 164. Apictorial representation of the acquisition unit 152 is shown in FIG. 5.

The PDA 112 is also shown in FIG. 4. The PDA 112 is correspondinglyprovided with an infra-red communications port 165 for communicatingdata to and from the acquisition unit 152 via an infra-red link 119. Adata processor 166 within the PDA 112 is arranged to communicate data toand from the infra-red port 165 via a connecting channel 166. The PDA112 is also provided with a data store 167 and a screen driver 168 whichare connected to the data processor 166.

The pictorial representation of the PDA 112 shown in FIG. 3 and theacquisition unit shown in FIG. 5 provide an illustration of an exampleembodiment of the present invention. A schematic diagram illustratingthe arrangement and connection of the PDA 112 and the acquisition unit152 is shown in FIG. 6. In the example shown in FIG. 6 the acquisitionunit 152 is mounted on the back of a camera 101 and coupled to thecamera via a six pin remote connector and to a connecting channelconveying the external signal representative of the time code recordedonto the recording tape. Thus, the six pin remote connector and the timecode indicated as arrow lines form the communications channel 153 shownin FIG. 4. The interface port 154 is shown in FIG. 6 to be a VA to DN1conversion comprising an RM-P9/LTC to RS422 converter 154. RM-P9 is acamera remote control protocol, whereas LTC is Linear Time Code in theform of an analogue signal. This is arranged to communicate with a RS422to RS232 converter 154″ via a connecting channel which forms part of theinterface port 154. The converter 154″ then communicates with themetadata generation processor 128 via the connecting channel 156 whichoperates in accordance with the RS 232 standard.

Returning to FIG. 4, the PDA 112 which has been loaded with thepre-planned production information is arranged to communicate thecurrent scene and shot for which audio/video material is to be generatedby communicating the next shot ID number via the infra-red link 119. Thepre-planned information may also have been communicated to theacquisition unit 152 and stored in the data store 132 via a separatelink or via the infra-red communication link 119. However in effect theacquisition unit 152 is directed to generate metadata in associationwith the scene or shot ID number which is currently being taken. Afterreceiving the information of the current shot the camera 102 is thenoperated to make a “take of the shot”. The audio/video material of thetake is recorded onto the recording tape 126 with corresponding timecodes. These time codes are received along with the audio/video materialvia the interface port 154 at the metadata generation processor 128. Themetadata generation processor 128 having been informed of the currentpre-planned shot now being taken logs the time codes for each take ofthe shot. The metadata generation processor therefore logs the IN andOUT time codes of each take and stores these in the data store 132.

The information generated and logged by the metadata generationprocessor 128 is shown in the table below. In the first column the sceneand shot are identified with the corresponding ID numbers, and for eachshot several takes are made by the camera operator which are indicatedin a hierarchical fashion. Thus, having received information from thePDA 112 of the current shot, each take made by the camera operator islogged by the metadata generation processor 128 and the IN and OUTpoints for this take are shown in the second and third columns andstored in the data store 132. This information may also be displayed onthe screen of the acquisition unit 152 as shown in FIG. 5. Furthermore,the metadata generation processor 128 as already explained generates theUMID for each take for the audio/video material generated during thetake. The UMID for each take forms the fourth column of the table.Additionally, in some embodiments, to provide a unique identification ofthe tape once which the material is recorded, a tape identification isgenerated and associated with the metadata. The tape identification maybe written on to the tape, or stored on a random access memory chipwhich is embodied within the video tape cassette body. This randomaccess memory chip is known as a TELEFILE® system which provides afacility for reading the tape ID number remotely. The tape ID is writtenonto the magnetic tape 126 to uniquely identify this tape. In preferredembodiments the TELEFILE® system is provided with a unique number whichmanufactured as part of the memory and so can be used as the tape IDnumber. In other embodiments the TELEFILE® system provides automaticallythe IN/OUT time codes of the recorded audio/video material items.

In one embodiment the information shown in the table below is arrangedto be recorded onto the magnetic tape in a separate recording channel.However, in other embodiments the metadata shown in the table iscommunicated separately from the tape 126 using either thecommunications processor 160 or the infra-red link 119. The metadatamaybe received by the PDA 112 for analysis and may be furthercommunicated by the PDA.

Scene ID: 900015689 Tape ID: 00001 UMID: Shot 5000000199 Take 1 IN:00:03:45:29 OUT: 00:04:21:05 060C23B340 . . . Take 2 IN: 00:04:21:20OUT: 00:04:28:15 060C23B340 . . . Take 3 IN: 00:04:28:20 OUT:00:05:44:05 060C23B340 . . . Shot 5000000200 Take 1 IN: 00:05:44:10 OUT:00:08:22:05 060C23B340 . . . Take 2 IN: 00:08:22:10 OUT: 00:08:23:05060C23B340 . . .

The communications processor 160 may be arranged in operation totransmit the metadata generated by the metadata generation processor 128via a wireless communications link. The metadata maybe received via thewireless communications link by a remotely located studio which can thenacquire the metadata and process this metadata ahead of the audio/videomaterial recorded onto the magnetic tape 126. This provides an advantagein improving the rate at which the audio/video production may begenerated during the post production phase in which the material isedited.

A further advantageous feature provided by embodiments of the presentinvention is an arrangement in which a picture stamp is generated atcertain temporal positions within the recorded audio/video signals. Apicture stamp is known to those skilled in the art as being a digitalrepresentation of an image and in the present example embodiment isgenerated from the moving video material generated by the camera. Thepicture stamp may be of lower quality in order to reduce an amount ofdata required to represent the image from the video signals. Thereforethe picture stamp may be compression encoded which may result in areduction in quality. However a picture stamp provides a visualindication of the content of the audio/video material and therefore is avaluable item of metadata. Thus, the picture stamp may for example begenerated at the IN and OUT time codes of a particular take. Thus, thepicture stamps may be associated with the metadata generated by themetadata generation processor 128 and stored in the data store 132. Thepicture stamps are therefore associated with items of metadata such as,for example, the time codes which identify the place on the tape wherethe image represented by the picture stamp is recorded. The picturestamps may be generated with the “Good Shot” markers. The picture stampsare generated by the metadata generation processor 128 from theaudio/video signals received via the communications link 153. Themetadata generation processor therefore operates to effect a datasampling and compression encoding process in order to produce thepicture stamps. Once the picture stamps have been generated they can beused for several purposes. They may be stored in a data file andcommunicated separately from the tape 126, or they may be stored on thetape 126 in compressed form in a separate recording channel.Alternatively in preferred embodiments picture stamps may becommunicated using the communications processor 160 to the remotelylocated studio where a producer may analysis the picture stamps. Thisprovides the producer with an indication as to whether the audio/videomaterial generated by the camera operator is in accordance with what isrequired.

In a yet further embodiment, the picture stamps are communicated to thePDA 112 and displayed on the PDA screen. This may be effected via theinfra-red port 119 or the PDA may be provided with a further wirelesslink which can communicate with the communications processor 160. Inthis way a director having the hand held PDA 112 is provided with anindication of the current audio/video content generated by the camera.This provides an immediate indication of the artist and aestheticquality of the audio/video material currently being generated. Asalready explained the picture stamps are compression encoded so thatthey may be rapidly communicated to the PDA.

A further advantage of the acquisition unit 152 shown in FIG. 4 is thatthe editing process is made more efficient by providing the editor at aremotely located studio with an indication of the content of theaudio/video material in advance of receiving that material. This isbecause the picture stamps are communication with the metadata via awireless link so that the editor is provided with an indication of thecontent of the audio/video material in advance of receiving theaudio/video material itself. In this way the bandwidth of theaudio/video material can remain high with a correspondingly high qualitywhilst the metadata and picture stamps are at a relatively low bandwidth providing relatively low quality information. As a result of thelow band width the metadata and picture stamps may be communicated via awireless link on a considerably lower band width channel. Thisfacilitates rapid communication of the metadata describing content ofthe audio/video material.

The picture stamps generated by the metadata generation processor 128can be at any point during the recorded audio/video material. In oneembodiment the picture stamps are generated at the IN and OUT points ofeach take. However in other embodiments of the present invention as anactivity processor 170 is arranged to detect relative activity withinthe video material. This is effected by performing a process in which ahistogram of the colour components of the images represented by thevideo signal is compiled and the rate of change of the colour componentsdetermined and changes in these colour components used to indicateactivity within the image. Alternatively or in addition, motion vectorswithin the image are used to indicate activity. The activity processor176 then operates to generate a signal indicative of the relativeactivity within the video material. The metadata generation processor128 then operates in response to the activity signal to generate picturestamps such more picture stamps are generated for greater activitywithin the images represented by the video signals.

In an alternative embodiment of the present invention the activityprocessor 170 is arranged to receive the audio signals via theconnecting channel 172 and to recognise speech within the audio signals.The activity processor 170 then generates content data representative ofthe content of this speech as text. The text data is then communicatedto the data processor 128 which may be stored in the data store 132 orcommunicated with other metadata via the communications processor 160 ina similar way to that already explained for the picture stamps.

FIG. 7 provides a schematic representation of a post production processin which the audio/video material is edited to produce an audio/videoprogram. As shown in FIG. 7 the metadata, which may include picturestamps and/or the speech content information is communicated from theacquisition unit 152 via a separate route represented by a broken line174, to a metadata database 176. The route 174 may be representative ofa wireless communications link formed by for example UMTS, GSM or thelike.

The database 176 stores metadata to be associated with the audio/videomaterial. The audio/video material in high quality form is recorded ontothe tape 126. Thus the tape 126 is transported back to the editing suitewhere it is ingested by an ingestion processor 178. The tapeidentification (tape ID) recorded onto the tape 126 or other metadataproviding an indication of the content of the audio/video material isused to associate the metadata stored in the data store 176 with theaudio/video material on the tape as indicated by the broken line 180.

As will be appreciated although the example embodiment of the presentinvention uses a video tape as the recording medium for storing theaudio/video signals, it will be understood that alternative recordingmedium such as magnetic disks and random access memories may also beused.

Ingestion Processor

FIG. 7 provides a schematic representation of a post production processin which the audio/video material is edited to produce an audio/videoprogram. As shown in FIG. 7 the metadata, which may include picturestamps and/or the speech content information is communicated from theacquisition unit 152 via a separate route represented by a broken line174, to a metadata database 176. The route 174 may be representative ofa wireless communications link formed by for example UMTS, GSM or thelike.

The database 176 stores metadata to be associated with the audio/videomaterial. The audio/video material in high quality form is recorded ontothe tape 126. Thus the tape 126 is transported back to the editing suitewhere it is ingested by an ingestion processor 178. The tapeidentification (tape ID) recorded onto the tape 126 or other metadataproviding an indication of the content of the audio/video material isused to associate the metadata stored in the data store 176 with theaudio/video material on the tape as indicated by the broken line 180.

The ingestion processor 178 is also shown in FIG. 7 to be connected to anetwork formed from a communications channel represented by a connectingline 182. The connecting line 182 represents a communications channelfor communicating data to items of equipment, which form aninter-connected network. To this end, these items of equipment areprovided with a network card which may operate in accordance with aknown access technique such as Ethernet, RS422 and the like.Furthermore, as will be explained shortly, the communications network182 may also provide data communications in accordance with the SerialDigital Interface (SDI) or the Serial Digital Transport Interface(SDTI).

Also shown connected to the communications network 182 is the metadatadatabase 176, and an audio/video server 190, into which the audio/videomaterial is ingested. Furthermore, editing terminals 184, 186 are alsoconnected to the communications channel 182 along with a digitalmulti-effects processor 188.

The communications network 182 provides access to the audio/videomaterial present on tapes, discs or other recording media which areloaded into the ingestion processor 178.

The metadata database 176 is arranged to receive metadata via the route174 describing the content of the audio/video material recorded on tothe recording media loaded into the ingestion processor 178.

As will be appreciated although in the example embodiment a video tapehas been used as the recording medium for storing the audio/videosignals, it will be understood that alternative recording media such asmagnetic disks and random access memories may also be used, and thatvideo tape is provided as an illustrative example only.

The editing terminals 184, 186 digital multi-effects processor 188 areprovided with access to the audio/video material recorded on to thetapes loaded into the ingestion processor 178 and the metadatadescribing this audio/video material stored in the metadata database 176via the communications network 182. The operation of the ingestionprocessor with 178 in combination with the metadata database 176 willnow be described in more detail.

FIG. 8 provides an example representation of the ingestion processor178. In FIG. 8 the ingestion processor 178 is shown to have a jogshuttle control 200 for navigating through the audio/video materialrecorded on the tapes loaded into video tape recorders/reproducersforming part of the ingestion processor 178. The ingestion processor 178also includes a display screen 202 which is arranged to display picturestamps which describe selected parts of the audio/video material. Thedisplay screen 202 also acts as a touch screen providing a user with thefacility for selecting the audio/video material by touch. The ingestionprocessor 178 is also arranged to display all types of metadata on thescreen 202 which includes script, camera type, lens types and UMIDs.

As shown in FIG. 9, the ingestion processor 178 may include a pluralityof video tape recorders/reproducers into which the video tapes ontowhich the audio/video material is recorded may be loaded in parallel. Inthe example shown in FIG. 9, the video tape recorders 204 are connectedto the ingestion processor 178 via an RS422 link and an SDI IN/OUT link.The ingestion processor 178 therefore represents a data processor whichcan access any of the video tape recorders 204 in order to reproduce theaudio/video material from the video tapes loaded into the video taperecorders. Furthermore, the ingestion processor 178 is provided with anetwork card in order to access the communications network 182. As willbe appreciated from FIG. 9 however, the communications channel 182 iscomprised of a relatively low band width data communications channel182′ and a high band width SDI channel 182″ for use in streaming videodata. Correspondingly, therefore the ingestion processor 178 isconnected to the video tape recorders 204 via an RS422 link in ordercommunicate requests for corresponding items of audio/video material.Having requested these items of audio/video material, the audio/videomaterial is communicated back to the ingestion processor 178 via an SDIcommunication link 206 for distribution via the SDI network. Therequests may for example include the UMID which uniquely identifies theaudio/video material item(s).

The operation of the ingestion processor in association with themetadata database 176 will now be explained with reference to FIG. 10.In FIG. 10 the metadata database 176 is shown to include a number ofitems of metadata 210 associated with a particular tape ID 212. As shownby the broken line headed arrow 214, the tape ID 212 identifies aparticular video tape 216, on which the audio/video materialcorresponding to the metadata 210 is recorded. In the example embodimentshown in FIG. 10, the tape ID 212 is written onto the video tape 218 inthe linear time code area 220. However it will be appreciated that inother embodiments, the tape ID could be written in other places such asthe vertical blanking portion. The video tape 216 is loaded into one ofthe video tape recorders 204 forming part of the ingestion processor178.

In operation one of the editing terminals 184 is arranged to access themetadata database 176 via the low band width communications channel 182′the editing terminal 184 is therefore provided with access to themetadata 210 describing the content of the audio/video material recordedonto the tape 216. The metadata 210 may include such as the copyrightowner “BSkyB”, the resolution of the picture and the format in which thevideo material is encoded, the name of the program, which is in thiscase “Grandstand”, and information such as the date, time and audience.Metadata may further include a note of the content of the audio/videomaterial.

Each of the items of audio/video material is associated with a UMID,which identifies the audio/video material. As such, the editing terminal184 can be used to identify and select from the metadata 210 the itemsof audio/video material which are required in order to produce aprogram. This material may be identified by the UMID associated with thematerial. In order to access the audio/video material to produce theprogram, the editing terminal 184 communicates a request for thismaterial via the low band width communications network 182. The requestincludes the UMID or the UMIDs identifying the audio/video materialitem(s). In response to the request for audio/video material receivedfrom the editing terminal 184, the ingestion processor 178 is arrangedto reproduce selectively these audio/video material items identified bythe UMID or UMIDs from the video tape recorder into which the videocassette 216 is loaded. This audio/video material is then streamed viathe SDI network 182″ back to the editing terminal 184 to be incorporatedinto the audio/video production being edited. The streamed audio/videomaterial is ingested into the audio/video server 190 from where theaudio/video can be stored and reproduced.

FIG. 11 provides an alternative arrangement in which the metadata 210 isrecorded onto a suitable recording medium with the audio/video material.For example the metadata 210 could be recorded in one of the audiotracks of the video tape 218′. Alternatively, the recording medium maybe an optical disc or magnetic disc allowing random access and providinga greater capacity for storing data. In this case the metadata 210 maybe stored with the audio/video material.

In a yet further arrangement, some or all of the metadata may berecorded onto the tape 216. This may be recorded, for example, into thelinear recording track of the tape 218. Some metadata related to themetadata recorded onto the tape may be conveyed separately and stored inthe database 176. A further step is required in order to ingest themetadata and to this end the ingestion processor 178 is arranged to readthe metadata from the recording medium 218′ and convey the metadata viathe communications network 182′ to the metadata database 176. Therefore,it will be appreciated that the metadata associated with the audio/videomaterial to be ingested by the ingestion processor 178 may be ingestedinto the database 176 via a separate medium or via the recording mediumon which the audio/video material is also recorded.

The metadata associated with the audio/video material may also includepicture stamps which represent low quality representations of the imagesat various points throughout the video material. These may be presentedat the touch screen 202 on the ingestion processor 178. Furthermorethese picture stamps may be conveyed via the network 182′ to the editingterminals 184, 186 or the effects processor 188 to provide an indicationof the content of the audio/video material. The editor is thereforeprovided with a pictorial representation for the audio/video materialand from this a selection of an audio/video material items may be made.Furthermore, the picture stamp may stored in the database 176 as part ofthe metadata 210. The editor may therefore retrieve a selected item forthe corresponding picture stamp using the UMID which is associated withthe picture stamp.

In other embodiments of the invention, the recording medium may not havesufficient capacity to include picture stamps recorded with theaudio/video material. This is likely to be so if the recording medium isa video tape 216. It is particularly appropriate in this case, althoughnot exclusively so, to generate picture stamps before or duringingestion of the audio/video material.

Returning to FIG. 7, in other embodiments, the ingestion processor 178may include a pre-processing unit. The pre-processing unit embodiedwithin the ingestion processor 178 is arranged to receive theaudio/video material recorded onto the recording medium which, in thepresent example is a video tape 126. To this end, the pre-processingunit may be provided with a separate video recorder/reproducer or may becombined with the video tape recorder/reproducer which forms part of theingestion processor 178. The pre-processing unit generates picturestamps associated with the audio/video material. As explained above, thepicture stamps are used to provide a pictorial representation of thecontent of the audio/video material items. However in accordance with afurther embodiment of the present invention the pre-processing unitoperates to process the audio/video material and generate an activityindicator representative of relative activity within the content of theaudio/video material. This may be achieved for example using a processorwhich operates to generate an activity signal in accordance with ahistogram of colour components within the images represented by thevideo signal and to generate the activity signals in accordance with arate of change of the colour histogram components. The pre-processingunit then operates to generate a picture stamp at points throughout thevideo material where there are periods of activity indicated by theactivity signal. This is represented in FIG. 12. In FIG. 12A picturestamps 224 are shown to be generated along a line 226 which isrepresenting time within the video signal. As shown in FIG. 12A thepicture stamps 224 are generated at times along the time line 226 wherethe activity signal represented as arrows 228 indicates events ofactivity. This might be for example someone walking into and out of thefield of view of the camera where there is a great deal of motionrepresented by the video signal. To this end, the activity signal mayalso be generated using motion vectors which may be, for example, themotion vectors generated in accordance with the MPEG standard.

In other embodiments of the invention, the pre-processor may generatetextual information corresponding to speech present within the audiosignal forming part of the audio/video material items stored on the tape126. The textual information may be generated instead of the picturestamps or in addition to the picture stamps. In this case, text may begenerated for example for the first words of sentences and/or the firstactivity of a speaker. This is detected from the audio signals presenton the tape recording or forming part of the audio/video material. Thestart points where text is to be generated is represented along the timeline 226 as arrows 230. Alternatively the text could be generated at theend of sentences or indeed at other points of interest within thespeech.

At the detected start of the speech, a speech processor operates togenerate a textual representation of the content of the speech. To thisend, the time line 226 shown in FIG. 12B is shown to include the text232 corresponding to the content of the speech at the start of activityperiods of speech.

The picture stamps and textual representation of the speech activitygenerated by the pre-processor is communicated via the communicationschannel 182 to the metadata database 176 and stored. The picture stampsand text are stored in association with the UMID identifying thecorresponding items of audio/video material from which the picturestamps 224 and the textual information 232 were generated. Thistherefore provides a facility to an editor operating one of the editingterminals 184, 186 to analyse the content of the audio/video materialbefore it is ingested using the ingestion processor 178. As such thevideo tape 126 is loaded into the ingestion processor 178 and thereafterthe audio/video material can be accessed via the network communicationschannel 182. The editor is therefore provided with an indication, veryrapidly, of the content of the audio/video material and so may ingestonly those parts of the material, which are relevant to the particularmaterial items required by the editor. This has a particular advantagein improving the efficiency with which the editor may produce anaudio/video production.

In an alternative embodiment, the pre-processor may be a separate unitand may be provided with a screen on which the picture stamps and/ortext information are displayed, and a means such as, for example, atouch screen, to provide a facility for selecting the audio/videomaterial items to be ingested.

In a further embodiment of the invention, the ingestion processor 178generates metadata items such as UMIDs whilst the audio/video materialis being ingested. This may required because the acquisition unit in thecamera 152 is not arranged to generate UMIDs, but does generate a UniqueMaterial Reference Number (MURN). The MURN is generated for eachmaterial item, such as a take. The MURN is arranged to be considerablyshorter than a UMID and can therefore be accommodated within the lineartime code of a video tape, which is more difficult for UMIDs becausethese are larger. Alternatively the MURN may be written into a TELEFILE®label of the tape. The MURN provides a unique identification of theaudio/video material items present on the tape. The MURNs may becommunicated separately to the database 176 as indicated by the line174.

At the ingestion processor 178, the MURN for the material items arerecovered from the tape or the TELEFILE label. For each MURN, theingestion processor 178 operates to generate a UMID corresponding to theMURN. The UMIDs are then communicated with the MURN to the database 176,and are ingested into the database in association with the MURNs, whichmay be already present within the database 176.

Camera Metadata

The following is provided, by way of example, to illustrate the possibletypes of metadata generated during the production of a programme, andone possible organisational approach to structuring that metadata.

FIG. 13 illustrates an example structure for organising metadata. Anumber of tables each comprising a number of fields containing metadataare provided. The tables may be associated with each other by way ofcommon fields within the respective tables, thereby providing arelational structure. Also, the structure may comprise a number ofinstances of the same table to represent multiple instances of theobject that the table may represent. The fields may be formatted in apredetermined manner. The size of the fields may also be predetermined.Example sizes include “Int” which represents 2 bytes, “Long Int” whichrepresents 4 bytes and “Double” which represents 8 bytes. Alternatively,the size of the fields may be defined with reference to the number ofcharacters to be held within the field such as, for example, 8, 10, 16,32, 128, and 255 characters.

Turning to the structure in more detail, there is provided a ProgrammeTable. The Programme Table comprises a number of fields includingProgramme ID (PID), Title, Working Title, Genre ID, Synopsis, AspectRatio, Director ID and Picturestamp. Associated with the Programme Tableis a Genre Table, a Keywords Table, a Script Table, a People Table, aSchedule Table and a plurality of Media Object Tables.

The Genre Table comprises a number of fields including Genre ID, whichis associated with the Genre ID field of the Programme Table, and GenreDescription.

The Keywords Table comprises a number of fields including Programme ID,which is associated with the Programme ID field of the Programme Table,Keyword ID and Keyword.

The Script Table comprises a number of fields including Script ID,Script Name, Script Type, Document Format, Path, Creation Date, OriginalAuthor, Version, Last Modified, Modified By, PID associated withProgramme ID and Notes. The People Table comprises a number of fieldsincluding Image.

The People Table is associated with a number of Individual Tables and anumber of Group Tables. Each Individual Table comprises a number offields including Image. Each Group Table comprises a number of fieldsincluding Image. Each Individual Table is associated with either aProduction Staff Table or a Cast Table.

The Production Staff Table comprises a number of fields includingProduction Staff ID, Surname, Firstname, Contract ID, Agent, Agency ID,E-mail, Address, Phone Number, Role ID, Notes, Allergies, DOB, NationalInsurance Number and Bank ID and Picture Stamp.

The Cast Table comprises a number of fields including Cast ID, Surname,Firstname, Character Name, Contract ID, Agent, Agency ID, Equity Number,E-mail, Address, Phone Number, DOB and Bank ID and Picture Stamp.Associated with the Production Staff Table and Cast Table are a BankDetails Table and an Agency Table.

The Bank Details Table comprises a number of fields including Bank ID,which is associated with the Bank ID field of the Production Staff Tableand the Bank ID field of the Cast Table, Sort Code, Account Number andAccount Name.

The Agency Table comprises a number of fields including Agency ID, whichis associated with the Agency ID field of the Production Staff Table andthe Agency ID field of the Cast Table, Name, Address, Phone Number, WebSite and E-mail and a Picture Stamp. Also associated with the ProductionStaff Table is a Role Table.

The Role Table comprises a number of fields including Role ID, which isassociated with the Role ID field of the Production Staff Table,Function and Notes and a Picture Stamp. Each Group Table is associatedwith an Organisation Table.

The Organisation Table comprises a number fields including OrganisationID, Name, Type, Address, Contract ID, Contact Name, Contact Phone Numberand Web Site and a Picture Stamp.

Each Media Object Table comprises a number of fields including MediaObject ID, Name, Description, Picturestamp, PID, Format, schedule ID,script ID and Master ID. Associated with each Media Object Table is thePeople Table, a Master Table, a Schedule Table, a Storyboard Table, ascript table and a number of Shot Tables.

The Master Table comprises a number of fields including Master ID, whichis associated with the Master ID field of the Media Object Table, Title,Basic UMID, EDL ID, Tape ID and Duration and a Picture Stamp.

The Schedule Table comprises a number of fields including Schedule ID,Schedule Name, Document Format, Path, Creation Date, Original Author,Start Date, End Date, Version, Last Modified, Modified By and Notes andPID which is associated with the programme ID.

The contract table contains: a contract ID which is associated with thecontract ID of the Production staff, cast, and organisation tables;commencement date, rate, job title, expiry date and details.

The Storyboard Table comprises a number of fields including StoryboardID, which is associated with the Storyboard ID of the shot Table,Description, Author, Path and Media ID.

Each Shot Table comprises a number of fields including Shot ID, PID,Media ID, Title, Location ID, Notes, Picturestamp, script ID, scheduleID, and description. Associated with each Shot Table is the PeopleTable, the Schedule Table, script table, a Location Table and a numberof Take Tables.

The Location Table comprises a number of fields including Location ID,which is associated with the Location ID field of the Shot Table, GPS,Address, Description, Name, Cost Per Hour, Directions, Contact Name,Contact Address and Contact Phone Number and a Picture Stamp.

Each Take Table comprises a number of fields including Basic UMID, TakeNumber, Shot ID, Media ID, Timecode IN, Timecode OUT, Sign Metadata,Tape ID, Camera ID, Head Hours, Videographer, IN Stamp, OUT Stamp. LensID, AUTOID ingest ID and Notes. Associated with each Take Table is aTape Table, a Task Table, a Camera Table, a lens table, an ingest tableand a number of Take Annotation Tables.

The Ingest table contains an Ingest ID which is associated with theIngest Id in the take table and a description.

The Tape Table comprises a number of fields including Tape ID, which isassociated with the Tape ID field of the Take Table, PID, Format, MaxDuration, First Usage, Max Erasures, Current Erasure, ETA (estimatedtime of arrival) and Last Erasure Date and a Picture Stamp.

The Task Table comprises a number of fields including Task ID, PID,Media ID, Shot ID, which are associated with the Media ID and Shot IDfields respectively of the Take Table, Title, Task Notes, DistributionList and CC List. Associated with the Task Table is a Planned ShotTable.

The Planned Shot Table comprises a number of fields including PlannedShot ID, PID, Media ID, Shot ID, which are associated with the PID,Media ID and Shot ID respectively of the Task Table, Director, ShotTitle, Location, Notes, Description, Videographer, Due date, Programmetitle, media title Aspect Ratio and Format.

The Camera Table comprises a number of fields including Camera ID, whichis associated with the Camera ID field of the Take Table, Manufacturer,Model, Format, Serial Number, Head Hours, Lens ID, Notes, Contact Name,Contact Address and Contact Phone Number and a Picture Stamp.

The Lens Table comprises a number of fields including Lens ID, which isassociated with the Lens ID field of the Take Table, Manufacturer,Model, Serial Number, Contact Name, Contact Address and Contact PhoneNumber and a Picture Stamp.

Each Take Annotation Table comprises a number of fields including TakeAnnotation ID, Basic UMID, Timecode, Shutter Speed, Iris, Zoom, Gamma,Shot Marker ID, Filter Wheel, Detail and Gain. Associated with each TakeAnnotation Table is a Shot Marker Table.

The Shot Marker Table comprises a number of fields including Shot MarkerID, which is associated with the Shot Marker ID of the Take AnnotationTable, and Description.

UMID Description

A UMID is described in SMPTE Journal March 2000 which provides detailsof the UMID standard. Referring to FIGS. 14 and 15, a basic and anextended UMID are shown. It comprises a first set of 32 bytes of basicUMID and a second set of 32 bytes of signature metadata.

The first set of 32 bytes is the basic UMID. The components are:

-   -   A 12-byte Universal Label to identify this as a SMPTE UMID. It        defines the type of material which the UMID identifies and also        defines the methods by which the globally unique Material and        locally unique Instance numbers are created.    -   A 1-byte length value to define the length of the remaining part        of the UMID.    -   A 3-byte Instance number which is used to distinguish between        different ‘instances’ of material with the same Material number.    -   A 16-byte Material number which is used to identify each clip.        Each Material number is the same for related instances of the        same material.

The second set of 32 bytes of the signature metadata as a set of packedmetadata items used to create an extended UMID. The extended UMIDcomprises the basic UMID followed immediately by signature metadatawhich comprises:

-   -   An 8-byte time/date code identifying the time and date of the        Content Unit creation.    -   A 12-byte value which defines the spatial co-ordinates at the        time of Content Unit creation.    -   3 groups of 4-byte codes which register the country,        organisation and user codes

Each component of the basic and extended UMIDs will now be defined inturn.

The 12-Byte Universal Label

The first 12 bytes of the UMID provide identification of the UMID by theregistered string value defined in table 1.

TABLE 1 Specification of the UMID Universal Label Byte No. DescriptionValue (hex) 1 Object Identifier 06h 2 Label size 0Ch 3 Designation: ISO2Bh 4 Designation: SMPTE 34h 5 Registry: Dictionaries 01h 6 Registry:Metadata Dictionaries 01h 7 Standard: Dictionary Number 01h 8 Versionnumber 01h 9 Class: Identification and location 01h 10 Sub-class:Globally Unique Identifiers 01h 11 Type: UMID (Picture, Audio, Data,Group) 01, 02, 03, 04h 12 Type: Number creation method XXh

The hex values in table 1 may be changed: the values given are examples.Also the bytes 1-12 may have designations other than those shown by wayof example in the table. Referring to the Table 1, in the example shownbyte 4 indicates that bytes 5-12 relate to a data format agreed bySMPTE. Byte 5 indicates that bytes 6 to 10 relate to “dictionary” data.Byte 6 indicates that such data is “metadata” defined by bytes 7 to 10.Byte 7 indicates the part of the dictionary containing metadata definedby bytes 9 and 10. Byte 10 indicates the version of the dictionary. Byte9 indicates the class of data and Byte 10 indicates a particular item inthe class.

In the present embodiment bytes 1 to 10 have fixed pre-assigned values.Byte 11 is variable. Thus referring to FIG. 15, and to Table 1 above, itwill be noted that the bytes 1 to 10 of the label of the UMID are fixed.Therefore they may be replaced by a 1 byte ‘Type’ code T representingthe bytes 1 to 10. The type code T is followed by a length code L. Thatis followed by 2 bytes, one of which is byte 11 of Table 1 and the otherof which is byte 12 of Table 1, an instance number (3 bytes) and amaterial number (16 bytes). Optionally the material number may befollowed by the signature metadata of the extended UMID and/or othermetadata.

The UMID type (byte 11) has 4 separate values to identify each of 4different data types as follows:

‘01h’=UMID for Picture material

‘02h’=UMID for Audio material

‘03h’=UMID for Data material

‘04h’=UMID for Group material (i.e. a combination of related essence).

The last (12th) byte of the 12 byte label identifies the methods bywhich the material and instance numbers are created. This byte isdivided into top and bottom nibbles where the top nibble defines themethod of Material number creation and the bottom nibble defines themethod of Instance number creation.

Length

The Length is a 1-byte number with the value ‘13h’ for basic UMIDs and‘33h’ for extended UMIDs.

Instance Number

The Instance number is a unique 3-byte number which is created by one ofseveral means defined by the standard. It provides the link between aparticular ‘instance’ of a clip and externally associated metadata.Without this instance number, all material could be linked to anyinstance of the material and its associated metadata.

The creation of a new clip requires the creation of a new Materialnumber together with a zero Instance number. Therefore, a non-zeroInstance number indicates that the associated clip is not the sourcematerial. An Instance number is primarily used to identify associatedmetadata related to any particular instance of a clip.

Material Number

The 16-byte Material number is a non-zero number created by one ofseveral means identified in the standard. The number is dependent on a6-byte registered port ID number, time and a random number generator.

Signature Metadata

Any component from the signature metadata may be null-filled where nomeaningful value can be entered. Any null-filled component is whollynull-filled to clearly indicate a downstream decoder that the componentis not valid.

The Time-Date Format

The date-time format is 8 bytes where the first 4 bytes are a UTC(Universal Time Code) based time component. The time is defined eitherby an AES3 32-bit audio sample clock or SMPTE 12M depending on theessence type.

The second 4 bytes define the date based on the Modified Julian Data(MJD) as defined in SMPTE 309M. This counts up to 999,999 days aftermidnight on the 17 Nov. 1858 and allows dates to the year 4597.

The Spatial Co-Ordinate Format

The spatial co-ordinate value consists of three components defined asfollows:

-   -   Altitude: 8 decimal numbers specifying up to 99,999,999 metres.    -   Longitude: 8 decimal numbers specifying East/West 180.00000        degrees (5 decimal places active).    -   Latitude: 8 decimal numbers specifying North/South 90.00000        degrees (5 decimal places active).

The Altitude value is expressed as a value in metres from the centre ofthe earth thus allowing altitudes below the sea level.

It should be noted that although spatial co-ordinates are static formost clips, this is not true for all cases. Material captured from amoving source such as a camera mounted on a vehicle may show changingspatial co-ordinate values.

Country Code

The Country code is an abbreviated 4-byte alpha-numeric string accordingto the set defined in ISO 3166. Countries which are not registered canobtain a registered alpha-numeric string from the SMPTE RegistrationAuthority.

Organisation Code

The Organisation code is an abbreviated 4-byte alpha-numeric stringregistered with SMPTE. Organisation codes have meaning only in relationto their registered Country code so that Organisation codes can have thesame value in different countries.

User Code

The User code is a 4-byte alpha-numeric string assigned locally by eachorganisation and is not globally registered. User codes are defined inrelation to their registered Organisation and Country codes so that Usercodes may have the same value in different organisations and countries.

Freelance Operators

Freelance operators may use their country of domicile for the countrycode and use the Organisation and User codes concatenated to e.g. an 8byte code which can be registered with SMPTE. These freelance codes maystart with the ‘˜’ symbol (ISO 8859 character number 7Eh) and followedby a registered 7 digit alphanumeric string.

As will be appreciated by those skilled in the art various modificationsmay be made to the embodiments herein before described without departingfrom the scope of the present invention. For example whilst embodimentshave been described with recording audio/video onto magnetic tape, itwill be appreciated that other recording media are possible. Furthermorealthough the user generated metadata has been represented as textinformation, it will be appreciated that any other forms of metadata maybe generated either automatically or under control of the user andreceived within the audio and/or video generation apparatus via aninterface unit. Correspondingly the secondary metadata may be any formof semantic or syntactic metadata.

As will be appreciated those features of the invention which appear inthe example embodiments as a data processor or processing units could beimplemented in hard ware as well as a software computer program runningon an appropriate data processor. Correspondingly those aspects andfeatures of the invention which are described as computer or applicationprograms running on a data processor may be implemented as dedicatedhardware. It will therefore be appreciated that a computer programrunning on a data processor which serves to form an audio and/or videogeneration apparatus as herein before described is an aspect of thepresent invention. Similarly a computer program recorded onto arecordable medium which serves to define the method according to thepresent invention or when loaded onto a computer forms an apparatusaccording to the present invention are aspects of the present invention.

1. A system for generating audio/video material, comprising: an audioand/or video generation apparatus configured to generate audio and/orvideo material representative of an audio and/or visual source, saidaudio and/or video generation apparatus including a recording unitconfigured to record audio and/or video signals representing said audioand/or video material on a recording medium, and a metadata generationprocessor configured to receive said audio and/or video signals, and togenerate metadata automatically in response to said audio and/or videosignals, wherein said metadata includes time code data representative ofedit points of one or more parts of the audio/video material, and saidmetadata includes an indication of a resolution of the video material,an audio/video storage device operable to receive said audio/videomaterial, a metadata database operable to receive said metadata, and auser controlled processing device connected to said audio/video storagedevice and to said metadata database and operable to process the videomaterial using the resolution of the video material indicated by theindication of the resolution provided in said metadata.
 2. The system asclaimed in claim 1, wherein said metadata includes an indication of theencoding format in which the video material is encoded, and said usercontrolled processing device is configured to process said videomaterial using the encoding format of said video material indicated bythe indication of the encoding format provided in said metadata.
 3. Anaudio and/or video generation apparatus configured to generate audioand/or video material representative of an audio and/or visual source,said audio and/or video generation apparatus comprising: a recordingunit configured to record audio and/or video signals representing saidaudio and/or video material on a recording medium; and a metadatageneration processor configured to receive said audio and/or videosignals, and to generate metadata automatically in response to saidaudio and/or video signals, wherein said metadata includes time codedata representative of edit points of one or more parts of theaudio/video material, and said metadata includes an indication of aresolution of the video material.
 4. The audio and/or video generationapparatus as claimed in claim 4, wherein said metadata includes anindication of the encoding format in which the video material isencoded.
 5. An audio and/or video generation apparatus configured togenerate audio and/or video material representative of an audio and/orvisual source, said audio and/or video generation apparatus including arecording unit configured to record audio and/or video signalsrepresenting said audio and/or video material on a recording medium, anda metadata generation processor configured to receive said audio and/orvideo signals, and to generate metadata automatically in response tosaid audio and/or video signals, wherein said metadata includes timecode data representative of edit points of one or more parts of theaudio/video material, and said metadata includes an indication of aresolution of the video material, an audio/video connection unitconnectable to an audio/video storage device, wherein when connected tothe audio/video storage device, the audio/video connection unit isoperable to feed the audio/video material to the audio/video storagedevice; and a metadata database connection unit connectable to ametadata database, wherein when connected to the metadata database, themetadata database is operable to feed said metadata to the metadatadatabase.
 6. The apparatus as claimed in claim 5, wherein said metadataincludes an indication of the encoding format in which the videomaterial is encoded, and said user controlled processing device isconfigured to process said video material using the encoding format ofsaid video material indicated by the indication of the encoding formatprovided in said metadata.
 7. A system comprising: the apparatus asclaimed in claim 5 and a user controlled processing device connectableto said audio/video storage device and to said metadata database andwhen connected, the user controlled processing device is configured toprocess the video material using the resolution of the video materialindicated by the indication of the resolution provided in said metadata.8. A method for generating audio/video material, the method comprising:generating audio and/or video material representative of an audio and/orvisual source; recording audio and/or video signals representing saidaudio and/or video material on a recording medium; receiving said audioand/or video signals; and generating metadata automatically in responseto said audio and/or video signals, wherein said metadata includes timecode data representative of edit points of one or more parts of theaudio/video material, and said metadata includes an indication of aresolution of the video material.
 9. The method as claimed in claim 8,further comprising: receiving said audio/video material in anaudio/video storage device; receiving said metadata in a metadatadatabase; connecting a user controlled processing device to saidaudio/video storage device and to said metadata database; and processingthe video material using the resolution of the video material indicatedby the indication of the resolution provided in said metadata.
 10. Themethod as claimed in claim 8, wherein the generating the metadataautomatically in response to said audio and/or video signals includes anindication of the encoding format in which the video material isencoded, and the method further comprising: processing said videomaterial using the encoding format of said video material indicated bythe indication of the encoding format provided in said metadata.
 11. Anon-transitory computer readable medium encoded with a computer programhaving computer executable instructions, which when loaded on to a dataprocessor causes the data processor to perform a method of generatingaudio and/or video material representative of an audio and/or visualsource, said method comprising: generating audio and/or video materialrepresentative of an audio and/or visual source; recording audio and/orvideo signals representing said audio and/or video material on arecording medium; receiving said audio and/or video signals; andgenerating metadata automatically in response to said audio and/or videosignals, wherein said metadata includes time code data representative ofedit points of one or more parts of the audio/video material, and saidmetadata includes an indication of a resolution of the video material.